Current News

by Adam White, UVM The University of Vermont Board of Trustees approved at its annual May meeting the design and funding for a new Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHWB) building. The new building would replace and expand the existing clinic currently at the University Health Center, Rehab Wing which is under 6,000 gross square feet. The fully accessible one-level, approximately 14,000 gross square foot new medical clinic will be located on the Redstone campus within walking distance for most students living on campus. The new facility will be accessed off the existing road around Redstone Green between Redstone Lodge and Blundell House.

Vermont Business Magazine New data from the Vermont Department of Health shows a significant decline in opioid overdose deaths last year. According to the newly released Fatal Opioid Overdoses Among Vermonters Report, 183 Vermonters died from an opioid-related overdose in 2024, a 22% decrease from 2023 when 236 people died. This marks the second consecutive year of a decline in overdose deaths, after a slight drop in 2023. While fatal overdoses involving fentanyl decreased by 25% between 2022 and 2024, fentanyl continues to be the number one substance involved in opioid-related deaths, accounting for 93% of opioid fatalities in 2024. Cocaine involvement in deaths increased significantly – from 60% in 2023 to 70% in 2024 – and remains the second most common drug involved in fatal overdoses. Xylazine was involved in 42% of fatal overdoses in 2024, up from 32% in 2023. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.04 per gallon, down 1.5 cents per gallon from last week's $3.05/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.73/g while the highest was $3.17/g, a difference of 44.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 6.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.14/g today.

by Adam White, university of Vermont The University of Vermont Board of Trustees approved the formation of UVM’s Food Systems Research Institute (FSRI) at its annual spring meeting on May 16. A collaboration with the U.S. Dept of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, the FSRI aims to foster a thriving food system fueled by transdisciplinary, people-centered research. The FSRI builds upon the UVM Food Systems Research Center established in 2019 with a Congressionally mandated allocation. Under the leadership of Director Polly Ericksen, the FSRI will create and support collaborative teams to connect disciplines and communities and produce results that are relevant to users from consumers to policy makers.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service just opened three major grant programs designed to rebuild local food systems, expand supply chains, and strengthen market access for producers, food hubs, and community partners.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine A Windham County man is scheduled to go on trial in federal court this week on charges he illegally cut down at least 299 trees in Stratton that were designated for protection as part of the Green Mountain National Forest. Raymond Otto Tarbell, 66, of Townshend has waived his right to a jury trial and will have his criminal case heard by Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle in Burlington. Tarbell was linked in 2012 to an improper heavy cut on property owned in Ferdinand in Essex County in the Northeast Kingdom, records show. He and a partner paid more than $23,000 to the state of Vermont to help settle the case, Vermont Business Magazine reported at the time.

by Mike Donoghue A state judge has approved an out-of-court settlement involving the Woodstock Foundation Board of Directors and the former longtime chair and vice chair of the board over their claims they were improperly removed and that the Woodstock Inn & Resort and the Billings Farm & Museum had been mismanaged. Judge H. Dickson Corbett, without written comment, signed his name to the bottom of the proposed settlement filed in Vermont Superior Court in Woodstock. The move appears to end the monumental legal battle that has mesmerized the Woodstock area for the past 2.5 years.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Windham County and the broader southern Vermont region face many of the same structural headwinds as the rest of the state: housing shortages, workforce gaps and increasing demands on the tax base. Recent tariff pressures and global trade concerns are bringing new and very real threats to Vermont businesses that are inextricably linked to the global economy. But economic development leader Adam Grinold, executive director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp., said he sees these challenges as opportunities to strengthen the regional economy through increased regional partnerships, targeted investments, long-term planning efforts and cross-sector collaborations. There also is a welcoming of New Americans. And for the region’s vital tourism industry, a jolly good winter.

Vermont Business Magazine This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will affect traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of May 19, 2025. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.  

by Dan Smith. President & CEO The Vermont Community Foundation At the VCF, we have always strived to be in the “hope” business. Giving is infused with hope, and the act of giving is core to sustaining Vermont’s potent sense of community. Hope also comes from having a plan. A plan requires an unvarnished reflection of what faces Vermont. After years of pandemic upheaval, economic strain, devastating floods, and now shrinking federal support, the future of Vermont communities feels more unstable than ever. Yet in that instability, there is also a degree of clarity about what can be done to help our communities survive and thrive. Realistically, Vermont is old, small, and poor. Most of Vermont—12 of 14 counties—never recovered economically from the 2009 financial crisis. A fifteen-year downturn sets the stage for civic and social conditions that have only been accelerated by a pandemic, floods, and now, funding freezes, tariffs, and confusion. The next few years are not going to be easy. 

by Jules Older We know that privacy’s an endangered species in the Digital Age. We all talk endlessly about it. Bemoan its loss. Say, “They oughta’ make a law.” The industry fights with vigor and cash against that law. It endlessly swears, “Your privacy is our greatest concern.” Yeah-nah. They could care less about our privacy. They care about selling us stuff. We all know that, but …

by Bekah Mandell Vermont has a unique education funding system. Unlike most states, where the wealth of your community determines the resources available for your school, Vermont’s statewide funding system means that we’ve succeeded in reducing the disparities in spending between rich and poor communities while maintaining local control. There’s more that we can do to make our ed funding system simpler, fairer, and more transparent, but right now, I want to focus on how we got to have one of the most equitable school funding systems in the country.